Freeze-dried food pouches are just about the easiest and lightest way to make delicious backcountry meals. Simply boil water, pour in the pouch, stir, and wait about 10 minutes for a tasty warm meal. They’re an excellent way to add flavor to any backcountry trip.

The main knock on freeze-dried meals is that they’re more expensive than DIY options. If you’re planning a trip that will last several weeks (like a thru-hike), freeze-dried pouches can quickly burn through your budget. But for the average 3-5 day trek, freeze-dried meals are an excellent way to pack lightweight, delicious, and convenient cuisine.

NEW MOUNTAIN HOUSE FLAVORS

Mountain House is one of the oldest and most popular backpacking food brands in the world. They’ve been making lightweight backcountry food and improving their recipes for almost 50 years. Mountain House recently released three new flavors – Biscuits and Gravy, Chicken Fried Rice, and Italian Style Pepper Steak with Rice and Tomatoes. Annie and I thought we’d give them a try, so we took them on our most recent backpacking trip. We really enjoyed the new flavors, so I thought I’d write a quick post to spread the word and share our thoughts.

BISCUITS AND GRAVY

Our top pick of the three new flavors is Biscuits and Gravy. Freeze-dried breakfasts tend to be too complicated for backpackers (needing a skillet to cook a powdered egg mixture for example). That’s why we love the new biscuits and gravy breakfast. It’s just as easy to make as the entrées (just add hot water), but it’s far tastier than any backpacking breakfast I’ve eaten. This meal combines fluffy buttermilk biscuits chunks with an excellent pork sausage gravy. It’s a hearty and flavorful way to start your morning (it could make a great trail dinner as well).

CHICKEN FRIED RICE

The Chicken Fried Rice entrée is also excellent. Annie’s not generally a fan of fried rice, but the flavor and texture of this meal was too good to resist. The Chicken Fried Rice pouch combines long-grain rice, chicken, and scrambled eggs, with a hearty mix of veggies - onions, mushrooms, green peas, red peppers and carrots. Annie and I weren’t sure what to expect from this meal, but our expectations were absolutely blown away. We definitely recommend giving this meal a try.

ITALIAN STYLE PEPPER STEAK WITH RICE AND TOMATOES

The Italian Style Pepper Steak pouch combines steak and long-grain rice with red, green, and yellow bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes. This was probably our least favorite of the three new meals, but it was still quite good. The steak actually tasted delicious, which was surprising to find in a freeze-dried meal. Our main complaint was that we wanted more flavor out of the tomato sauce base. We felt that a spicy kick would really take this meal up a notch, which is why we always pack hot sauce. Still, it’s definitely a very good trail meal and well worth a try.

If you’re looking to cut down on cost, consider ordering your backpacking meals in bulk. The Mountain House Meal Bucket (12 meals) will bring your per-meal cost way down and you’ll get some of their best flavors. This is also a good buy for your home emergency preparedness kit.

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GEAR GUIDE 2018

Packing a top-notch tent is one of the best ways to increase comfort, safety, and enjoyment on backcountry trips. So when you're in the market for a new shelter, pick up one of the Best Backpacking Tents of 2018.

Staying hydrated and avoiding parasites in the backcountry is critical. We explain the key differences of each water treatment method and share our personal favorites in our list of the Best Water Filters of 2018.

Trekking poles can add a lot of stability and comfort to your hike. We tested dozens of trekking poles to narrow the list down in terms of durability, comfort, weight and value to determine this year's Best Trekking Poles.

We put together this list to showcase some solid budget tents that strike a good balance between cost, weight, weather protection, and durability. If you’re on a tight budget or new to backpacking, check out our Best Budget Tents of the year.

Outdoor adventure gifts are the best kind around. The gift ideas listed in the CleverHiker Gift Guide are can’t miss recommendations for anyone that enjoys backpacking, hiking, and camping. So give a gift that gets someone outdoors this year. Give the gift of adventure!

POPULAR BLOG CONTENT

The Pacific Northwest is an adventure junkie’s paradise. It’s a breathtakingly diverse playground of craggy granite peaks, high alpine lakes, meadows socked with wildflowers, rugged windswept coastline, and more shades of green than your eyeballs can handle.

If you’ve spent any time in the woods, you’ve probably made some epic backcountry blunders. I certainly have. In fact, the only reason I’m able to give any “clever” hiking advice is because of all the laughably bad mistakes I’ve made over the years. At one point or another I’ve fallen victim to every one of the blunders listed below (and then some!).

Completing a thru-hike will be one of the most profoundly rewarding achievements of your life. You’ll spend months communing with nature, build jaw-dropping endurance, and develop lasting friendships along the way. Mustering up the courage to set out on your first thru-hike just might be the best decisions you ever make.

For many of us, it’s been drilled into our heads since day one that backpackers wear boots. That’s just what you do. You need the toughness and the ankle support and the water protection, right? That’s why it blew my mind a few years back when I learned that thru-hikers cover thousands of trail miles every year in running shoes. Now, after many years and many miles, I feel very confident saying: Ditch the boots and don't look back.

A lightweight down coat should be at the center of any good backpacking list. You’ll wear it just about every night on the trail. It’ll keep you toasty warm, even after spending hours jammed into the bottom of your pack. So, considering how essential your down coat is and how often you use it, let me ask you this; when was the last time you washed it?

One of my favorite shots from this weekend’s backpacking trip in Death Valley. A natural yin and yang balance between light and size and ruggedness and beauty. Marble Canyon was really spectacular.
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Also, we just posted a full guide to this awesome 26-mile loop on our blog, and winter’s the perfect time to take it on.
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#deathvalley #marblecanyon #cottonwoodmarblecanyonloop #cleverhiker

Went on an incredible backpacking trip in Death Valley this past weekend with some of my closest friends. It’s always good to spend time in nature with people you care about.
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#deathvalley #cottonwoodmarblecanyonloop #cleverhiker

Just finished up day 4 on our JMT thru-hike!! The weather has been lovely, our packs are feeling good, and we’re very excited for what lies ahead. At the moment we’re chillin at Red’s Meadow on mile 60 of the trail. Eating some good food and enjoying a cold brewski. About 160 miles left in our journey, which we’re expecting will take about 12-13 more days. Hope all is well in your world!! .
#jmt2018 #johnmuirtrail

Lovely hike up to Wheeler Peak today, highest point in NM. 🤗

Had a stellar day yesterday. Got some solid work done in the morning, ate some delicious grub in Bozeman, and headed out to the mountains to camp. Any day with alpine lakes is a win in my books. 👌

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Annapurna Range - Nepal

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn." - John Muir

Half Dome - Yosemite NP

At CleverHiker, we believe that backpacking adventures provide some of life’s most rewarding experiences. Our goal is to help make your adventures as rewarding and enjoyable as possible, and to inspire you to plan your next excursion.

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